To improve the performance of our website, show the most relevant news products and targeted advertising, we collect technical impersonal information about you, including through the tools of our partners. You can find a detailed description of how we use your data in our Privacy Policy. For a detailed description of the technologies, please see the Cookie and Automatic Logging Policy.

By clicking on the "Accept & Close" button, you provide your explicit consent to the processing of your data to achieve the above goal.

You can withdraw your consent using the method specified in the Privacy Policy.

Earlier this month, the Syrian Army launched an offensive in the province, citing militants' constant violations of a ceasefire, and has liberated multiple settlements, including Khan Sheikhoun, which had served as a major strongpoint for anti-government militias and terrorist groups.

The Pentagon has confirmed that the US-led coalition has carried out strikes against the leaders of an al-Qaeda-linked militant group in Idlib province, Syria.

"The removal of this facility will further degrade their ability to conduct future attacks and destabilise the region," US Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Earl Brown said, his comments cited by AFP.

Earlier, local media reported that the coalition had launched a missile attack against the headquarters of Hurras ad-Din, an insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaeda* which has waged war with Syrian government forces during the Syrian conflict.

US attacks on non-Daesh (ISIS)* targets in Syria are relatively rare, and the coalition previously reported attacking al-Qaeda linked militants at a meeting of commanders west of Aleppo in late June.

Unconfirmed footage and photos purporting to show the damage caused by Saturday's strike have appeared online.

According to local media, Saturday's strike killed over 40 militants and field commanders, with Tahrir al-Sham (Nusra Front)* commander Abu Mohammad al-Julani also reportedly present at the meeting; his fate remains unknown. Commanders of 'moderate' armed opposition forces were also said to be at the meeting.

The strike is thought to have completely destroyed the two storey building in which the meeting was taking place. It's unclear whether the coalition used aircraft or cruise missiles to carry out the strike.

Earlier, the Russian military's centre for reconciliation announced that a truce would enter force in the Idlib de-escalation zone on Saturday, with the centre calling on the leaders of armed groups operating in the province to stop their provocations and join the peace process instead.

The Syrian Army launched an offensive in Idlib on August 5, liberating multiple villages and settlements and capturing the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which had been under the control of the Nusra Front since 2015. The town had served as a major strategic strongpoint for anti-government militias and terrorist groups during much of the foreign-backed civil conflict in Syria. In 2017, Nusra accused the Syrian government of carrying out a chemical attack against local civilians, prompting the Trump administration to launch air strikes against Syrian government targets. Independent investigations later revealed that this 'chemical attack' was staged by the White Helmets 'rescue group' to give the US a pretext to target Syria. A similar scenario was repeated in Douma, southern Syria, in April 2018.

Following successful operations by the Syrian military across Syria and Syrian Kurdish forces in the country's north and northeast to free the country from Islamist terrorists, Idlib remains the last major stronghold of terrorist and anti-government opposition fighters in the country, with tens of thousands of armed militants holed up in the country. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are also present in the zone, with Syria and Russia accusing terrorists of attempting to use them as human shields.

By clicking the "Post" button, you provide your explicit consent to the processing of your Facebook account data to enable you to comment to the news on our website using this account. You can find a detailed description of how we use your data in our Privacy Policy.

By checking this box, you provide your explicit consent to the processing of your personal data to create an account on the Sputnik website for posting comments to news. You can find a detailed description of how we use your data in our Privacy Policy.
You can withdraw your consent by using the feedback form or the method specified in the Privacy Policy.

* All fields are required

Please confirm your e-mail to continue. Confirmation instructions have been sent to

Hello,
!

We are committed to protecting your personal information and we have updated our Privacy Policy to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new EU regulation that went into effect on May 25, 2018.

Please review our Privacy Policy. It contains details about the types of data we collect, how we use it, and your data protection rights.

Since you already shared your personal data with us when you created your personal account, to continue using it, please check the box below:

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of creating a personal account on this site, in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

If you do not want us to continue processing your data, please click here to delete your account.

promotes the use of narcotic / psychotropic substances, provides information on their production and use;

contains links to viruses and malicious software;

is part of an organized action involving large volumes of comments with identical or similar content ("flash mob");

“floods” the discussion thread with a large number of incoherent or irrelevant messages;

violates etiquette, exhibiting any form of aggressive, humiliating or abusive behavior ("trolling");

doesn’t follow standard rules of the English language, for example, is typed fully or mostly in capital letters or isn’t broken down into sentences.

The administration has the right to block a user’s access to the page or delete a user’s account without notice if the user is in violation of these rules or if behavior indicating said violation is detected.